Donna Riley-Lein

Baldwin People Editor

 


With appearances on ESPN and other mainstream sports outlets, rodeo is a big deal. Skills that cowboys and vaqueros needed to care for huge herds of cattle are now sport.


For all the pageantry you see when you go to a rodeo, it all comes down to a person, a horse and the animal they are trying to control. Serious injury is a real danger. It's easy to think that something so difficult and hazardous would be left to adults.


But, instead Baldwin County is sending eight high school and recently graduated students to the 62nd annual National High School Rodeo Finals in Gillette, Wyo. July 18-24. Many of them started honing their skills when they were in grade school.


“The students compete all year for points,” explained Ann Simpson, the mother of Lexus and Raven Simpson who are heading to the national championships. “The top four in each state (or province) get to go to nationals.” She pointed out that Baldwin County sends more than its share of students to the national championships. The students compete under the auspices of the Alabama High School Rodeo Association.


 A complete version of this story can be found in the Baldwin People section of the July 7 edition of your local Gulf Coast Newspaper.